Prime Minister David Cameron justifies Sri Lanka visit

David Cameron justifies his decision to attend the Sri Lanka Commonwealth
summit, saying he hopes to make the point that there needs to be "proper
inquiries into what happened at the end of the war"

11:09AM GMT 14 Nov 2013

The palm-flecked island nation of Sri Lanka plays host this week to leaders from dozens of Commonwealth nations at a summit it hopes will generate enough good will and photo opportunities to eclipse three decades of grim history - massive civilian deaths, persistent media harassment and gangster-style politics.

Instead, as Friday's opening approaches, global focus remains trained on the country's 27-year civil war and alleged atrocities committed by both rebels and soldiers who, despite a sustained international outcry, have been spared from investigations and prosecutions since the war ended in 2009.

The leaders of Canada and India are boycotting the summit. Others have had to justify their plans to attend by promising to bring Sri Lanka's government to task.

Prime Minister David Cameron said that during his visit to Sri Lanka he would go to the north of the island to Jaffna to highlight the need for "proper inquiries into what happened at the end of the war and for proper human rights and democracy for the Tamil minority."

He added: "There's always a case for not going somewhere, but I think actually we will get further by going and having conversations about what needs to happen and shining a light on some of the issues and problems that there are."